Former Paducah Tilghman Standout Preparing For Breakout JUCO Season
In 2016, the Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornadoes were primed to make a Kentucky ‘Sweet Sixteen’ appearance. Finishing the season 27-5, those dreams fell short with a four point loss to eventual regional champion Murray High School in the semi-final game. But nonetheless, with a 27 win season and a district championship, the season was considered a successful one. Much of that success can be attributed to the play of now-Shawnee Community College sophomore point guard Sayveon McEwen. McEwen finished his high school career averaging 14 points and 3 rebounds per game while serving as the team’s floor general on a nightly basis. Even more impressive was his field goal percentage, which sat at 53%. Now playing at the JUCO level, in the eyes of many, McEwen is just getting started.
Making the transition from high school to the JUCO level was simple for McEwen. “I had to get used to the area. With the campus being rather secluded from everything, it made me really want to develop my game as a basketball player,” said Sayveon. “It gave me an opportunity to grow as a person and get used to some things I wasn’t used to before.”
As a freshman at Shawnee Community College last season, McEwen averaged 11.6 points per game, shooting 46% from the field and 44% from 3-point range (a 9% increase from how he shot the ball from 3-point range in high school). “I had some great teammates, some great sophomore guys who were able to show me what it was like to play at the junior college level. They kind of took me in and showed me the ropes.”
If there was an adjustment to be made, McEwen hinted that it might be getting used to the level of play at the JUCO level. “To be honest, personally I think that people really don’t realize how talented the Junior College level is. There are so many good players playing JUCO basketball. I feel as though some of these players have the capability to play and dominate at the highest level of college basketball,” said McEwen. “I think the junior college level is a little overlooked because of the circumstances some of these players faced coming out of high school, or in general. Some players didn’t have the grades or just faced unfortunate obstacles.”
Sayveon laid out his goals for this upcoming season to Prep Hoops Kentucky; “My goals for the upcoming season are to dominate and become a better point guard, be a floor general and just all-in-all become a better all around player. I want to take my team to Hutch and win it all. I want to increase my recruiting process and I’ll do what it takes to put the team, my teammates, and I in the best position possible to succeed.”
In looking for a place to play at the next level, Sayveon had this to say; “What I’m looking for in college program when it’s time to move on to the next level is just a family. A place that I feel like I’m at home, a program that wants the best for me not only as a basketball player, but as a student. I know if I can receive this, the rest is up to me. I’ll put in the time, the blood, sweat, and tears to do what it takes to get on the floor and make my team successful and win!”
If all goes as expected, look for Sayveon to be playing at the Division I level somewhere after this season. He’s a player.